China holds a 93–7 advantage over Vietnam on the Relative Advantage Index, a decisive margin.
The margin is driven by military spending (97% of the combined total, $336bn) and economic size (GDP) (98% of the combined total, $18.7tn).
1 factor — nuclear warheads — could not be scored because the figure is unpublished for at least one side. Those factors are excluded and the remaining weights renormalised, never substituted.
| Factor | China | Share | Vietnam | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Military spending SIPRI Milex | $336bn | 97%3% | $10.5bn | 33% |
Economic size (GDP) World Bank WDI | $18.7tn | 98%2% | $476bn | 27% |
Active personnel COW NMC | 2.0m | 81%19% | 482.0k | 20% |
Logistics & power projection OurAirports | 402 | 91%9% | 38 | 20% |
Shares are each side's portion of the combined total for that factor. Weights are renormalised across the factors both sides publish — see the methodology. Data read 2026-08-04.
Every combination inside the top 30 of the Composite Power Index.
Bordering states — the comparisons people actually search for.